16. Maddison
Maddison
T here are low murmurs coming from the office, and just the sound of Hunter’s voice makes parts of me throb despite myself.
I’d collapsed onto the bed after he’d left my bedroom, my jaw aching and my frustration coiling ever tighter in my belly.
My only relief was to draw my legs up and let my knees fall open so I could tend to my own needs.
I should be relaxed now, but my fingers hadn’t been Hunter’s fingers. And if I’m being brutally honest, I don’t want fingers. I continue past the office towards the kitchen.
“Congratulations, Mrs. Griffin,” Connie whispers as she gives me a conspiratorial wink.
My sigh escapes before I can stop it. “It’s just a business arrangement.”
Connie scrutinizes my features. My cheeks are still flushed and I’m not sure I’ve put enough effort into taming my hair after Hunter twisted and pulled it while he fucked my mouth.
“Yes, I can see that,” she says, raising an eyebrow.
She takes a jug from the refrigerator and pours me one of her smoothies .
“And what miraculous properties does this one hold?” I ask, taking it gratefully.
“It’s invigorating.”
My glass pauses at my lips. “I might need the opposite. Something to dampen down… feelings?” I say, opting for ambiguity. What I need is something to cure me of my carnal desires since it’s not going to be my husband.
Connie simply smiles. “No, I’m pretty sure that’s the one you need.”
Choosing not to point out how wrong she is, I take my drink and head for the lion’s den.
Hunter wants me to treat him like a business partner, but I don’t know how I’m meant to ignore this burning need for his touch, not when I know he’s fighting it too.
I’m almost at the door when I pull myself up short.
I’ve spent my entire life bending to the will and expectations of men, and I can feel myself falling into old ways.
The old me was never allowed to express myself, or make my own demands, but that changed when I met Hunter.
I was the one who asked him to marry me, and I got my way. Who’s to say, I can’t do it again?
All three brothers fall silent as I enter the room.
It’s late afternoon, and the windows have been opened to let in a breeze.
It tickles the beads of sweat on the back of my neck as I pause.
I’m waiting for someone to congratulate me like Connie had, but even Reid can offer no more than a gentle nod.
“I hope I didn’t keep you,” I say as I slip behind my desk. My gaze flicks to Hunter, when I add, “I was just finishing something off.”
His jaw feathers. “I want to walk you through what happens tomorrow,” he says, making a show of ignoring my innuendo .
“Everyone’s confirmed their attendance,” Reid adds. “Even Hugo.”
I nod. I’m not looking forward to seeing my brother again.
It’s only when I recall the sound of cartilage crunching as Hunter smashed Hugo’s face into the library wall that I remind myself that I won’t be the one walking in there battered and bruised.
My hand goes to my abdomen and I test the damage from his last punch – his last ever punch. I’m good.
“Can you give us an idea how the dynamics work between them all,” Mace says. “Who’s going to back Hugo, and who’s going to listen to Hunter?”
“They won’t be listening to me,” Hunter interjects. “Maddie will be doing most of the talking.”
When I take a sip of my smoothie, my teeth rattle against the glass. “I will?”
Hunter pins me with his stare. “I hope there wasn’t a question mark at the end of that statement.”
I put down my glass and pick up a yellow pencil. I twirl it in my fingers as I concentrate on the power Hunter is handing me. I’ve daydreamed of taking over the boardroom and knocking some sense into my brother.
“We’ll have Amos on our side. He’ll be thrilled when he sees the proposals Ash sent through for streamlining the pulping process, and upgrading our plant and machinery.
It’s what Amos has been shouting about for years.
In fact, it’s more than he could have hoped,” I say.
I can’t deny I was thrilled too. Despite Ash being a looming shadow that I want to retreat from, I can see why he’s so successful in turning businesses around.
“Conrad is legal,” I continue. “So he’s going to hold back his opinion until he’s seen the detail. But given the times he’s had to wrestle with Hugo’s dubious decisions in the past, I can’t see him having a problem if we can back up our reasonings.”
“We will,” Reid assures me. “We’ve never failed an audit yet.”
“Good. Then that just leaves Morgan Summerville,” I say. “He’s been CFO since my father’s time, and of course, he was representing me up until yesterday.”
“And he’d be your niece’s representative if something happened to Hugo before we could buy him out,” Hunter adds for his brothers’ benefit.
“Morgan’s going to lose an awful lot of power with this deal,” I add. “He’s the one to watch, and he’s had plenty of practice of being slippery. I can only imagine what he’s managed to hide in the books to protect Hugo. His loyalty knows no bounds when it comes to the male Corbyn line.”
I press the pencil to my lips, unsure how to continue. It’s not like the Griffins don’t know my family’s dirty secrets.
“He’s the only member of the board that’s ever witnessed Hugo’s brutality firsthand,” I explain.
Hunter’s eyes narrow. “What do you mean?”
I take a breath. “Morgan was at the house one day when my brother punched me to the floor because my phone had started ringing. I’d been bringing them coffees and I was lucky I wasn’t scalded when I dropped the tray.”
I can see Hunter’s jaw working. “And what did Morgan do?”
“Fetched more coffee while I cleaned up.”
“Are you sure you’re ready to be in the same room as them again?” Reid asks. “Could we set up a video link instead?”
“Absolutely not,” I reply, but my breath is shallow and I have to swallow hard. Maybe I’m not as ready as I thought I was.
“She can handle herself,” Hunter says, his eyes on me.
The claws of fear scratching at my confidence retract as his words fill me with warmth. Flooding me. For pity’s sake, do his deep green eyes have to bore into me like that? I’m practically naked under his gaze, and that thought doesn’t help either.
My mouth softens, but not my gaze. “Apparently, I have to,” I say with a quirk of my eyebrow. “But I’m getting good at it.”
The silence that follows stretches on until Reid rises his feet. “I’m going to grab a coffee if anyone wants one.”
Hunter and I are captured by each other’s stare and don’t respond.
“Right. I’ll take that as a no,” he says awkwardly, and slips out the door.
Mace mutters a curse under his breath. “Glad to see marriage put an end to the sexual tension between you two,” he mutters.
“You noticed?” I say, dragging my attention from one brother to the other.
“It’s my job to notice,” Mace says. “You know, Maddie, if Hunter can’t satisfy you…”
Hunter jumps up, sending his office chair spinning back. His face is heated, but his words are like ice. “I’m warning you now, Mace. Don’t ever talk to my wife like that again.”
Mace simply shakes his head as he steps around his brother and heads for the door. “I know what she is to you, brother. Count this as a rehearsal for when Ash gets here. You need to find a way to work out your frustrations. As if it wasn’t fucking obvious.”
I’m frowning as I stare at the door Mace closes behind him. Was he actually advocating that Hunter and I deepen our relationship? Having Mace push Hunter into action certainly does no harm to my cause.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” I say as I watch my husband settle back in his chair. “I can take care of myself.”
“So you keep fucking saying,” he mumbles as he hits what I’m guessing are just random keys on his keyboard.
He doesn’t want to talk to me. Fine. He can just listen.
“At least I have my books to keep me occupied,” I muse.
I tap the pencil against my teeth so he knows it’s in my mouth.
“But if I’m honest, the only words that could turn me on right now are the ones you said to me while I was sucking you off. ”
“Maddie. Don’t,” Hunter warns. He’s refusing to look up from his computer screen.
“Do you still want to know how wet I am?” I ask. I don’t have to force my voice to sound throaty. There’s a thrumming along my spine that’s tightening all my muscles.
Pursing the pencil between my lips, I lift one of my knees up and over the arm of my chair. I unbutton my pants, but it’s when I pull down the zipper that Hunter’s gaze flicks in my direction.
“Stop it. Now.”
It’s my turn to ignore him as I guide the yellow pencil inside my open zipper. I keep my eyes downcast as I slip it beneath the elastic of my panties and watch it disappear between my legs. I bite down on my lip and groan as I rub it against my clit.
I hear Hunter stand, but if he’s about to stop me, he pauses long enough to take a good look at what I’m doing first. I move the pencil up and down my slit a couple more times before taking it out .
Looking up, I trail my gaze from his visible arousal to his flushed face. Why does his torture have to turn me on so much? “You said you wanted to know how I tasted,” I remind him. I trail the tip of my tongue along the pencil and smile. “I bet it’s just like you keep imagining. Fine dining.”
The door handle rattles and I have just enough time to drop my leg back to the floor before Mace opens the door. Reid follows him in carrying a tray of coffees and slices of cake.
“Sorry, Connie insisted on feeding you two,” Reid says.
When he comes over to me, I drop the pencil and pull my chair in tight against the desk so Reid can’t see that my pants are undone. I take one of the coffees from the tray and send him away, while I try to figure out how to refasten my pants without the others noticing.
I don’t like the way Hunter’s smiling as he prowls towards me.
I grip the edge of my desk, but he manages to pull out my chair.
“Stand up, wife,” he whispers, grabbing hold of my open pants and yanking me to my feet.
He pulls me close and kisses my nose as he discretely fastens me up. “Don’t do that again.”
As I drop back down into my chair, it feels like he’s won that battle. Until I notice the yellow pencil he puts behind his ear as he returns to his desk.